August 2008 Archives

If you have even a remote interest in rhythm games, you know that new songs are constantly being released for games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero as premium downloads. Well, at FI we don't write up every single song that's released because, frankly, that's boring, and if you are playing either game very much, you already know. But this is special. On Tuesday, September 2 for the Xbox 360 and on Thursday, September 4 for the PlayStation 3, Rock Band will receive "Skullcrusher Mountain" from Jonathan Coulton. Go ahead – download it.

Gamecock has signed on to publish another project coming out of developer Renegade Kid, the studio behind Dementium: The Ward. While details on the project have not yet been announced, Gamecock asserts that the game is a change "in terms of gameplay, genre and style" from Renegade Kid's past projects.

Electronic Arts has shipped its game Mercenaries 2: World in Flames to stores in North America. The game should be available for purchase by Sunday, August 31 (and should be available in European stores on September 5).

Retailer GameStop is performing a minor reorganization of its senior management. The company's Chairman and CEO, R. Richard Fontaine, will become Executive Chairman and will "focus on international operations, acquisition opportunities and strategic development." Daniel DeMatteo, who has been GameStop's Chief Operating Officer, will assume the role of GameStop's Chief Executive Officer. J. Paul Raines will also become the company's new Chief Operating Officer in the next few days.

While publisher Majesco has publicly traded stock listed on the NASDAQ exchange, the company has had trouble adhering to the minimum listing requirements for the exchange. Today, Majesco received a notice that the company's stock has been below $1 per share for the last 30 consecutive trading days. Now, Majesco's stock needs to close at $1 per share or greater for a minimum of 10 consecutive trading days before February 18, 2009 or the company will be delisted from the exchange.

LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment have launched the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game. The game has players building virtual decks to enter battle on the side of the Rebels, Imperials, Jedi or Sith. The first release for this game is called Champions of the Force, and includes 20 lot cards redeemable for items within Star Wars Galaxies. The game supports both competitive play and "story-based solo play."

True Games has signed on to be the North American publisher for an upcoming online, microtransaction-supported game from Petroglyph Studios. GOA (part of Orange Games) is taking care of distribution in Europe. The title has not been officially announced, but in the past Petroglyph has created games such as Star Wars: Empire at War.

Electronic Arts' Mythic Entertainment studios has proclaimed that its massively multiplayer online game Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is now gold, in duplication and will make its scheduled September 18 release date.

Aeria Games, a company that has released "free" games in North America supported by in-game item sales, plans to open a subsidiary in Europe. The company has already hired six employees in Berlin, and expects to grow its Berlin office to between 20 and 50 staff in the next two years.

Grey Dog Software announced that it is working on World of Mixed Martial Arts 2 for release on the PC in early 2009. The game is a sequel to World of Mixed Martial Arts, and will be a fighting management simulation.

Merscom has released Righteous Kill: The Game as a downloadable adventure for the PC based on the film Righteous Kill that should reach theaters on September 12. The game is a hidden-object style game that has players searching for around one thousand items hidden in 16 different crime scenes.

Aeria Games, a company that has released "free" games in North America supported by in-game item sales, plans to open a subsidiary in Europe. The company has already hired six employees in Berlin, and expects to grow its Berlin office to between 20 and 50 staff in the next two years.

Ratchet, a lonely lombax stuck in a perpetual state of saving the universe, recently saw his best friend (and best robot) Clank, abducted by transdimensional beings known as the Zoni. To locate and rescue Clank, Ratchet will have to reconstruct a transdimensional telescope constructed by a deceased pirate, without running afoul of his robotic pirate nemeses.

There are two ways to look at the Fable II Pub Games: Either it's $10 (800 points) for three fantasy-themed gambling games, or (like the Spore Creature Creator) it's a way of spending $10 to get a head start on a game that hasn't been released. That's it. If you're looking for basic, casino-style games, look elsewhere. If you are chomping at the bit to play the upcoming role-playing game Fable II, and would love to spend a few bucks to get some extra in-game items and lots of gold before Fable II is even released, then the Fable II Pub Games are a must-have item on Xbox Live Arcade.

Taito Corporation is, shall we say, pissed. The Computer Game Museum Berlin hosted an installation called "Space Invaders: Die Jubilaumsshow!" (Space Invaders: The Anniversary Show) and Douglas Edric Stanley displayed an installation at the Games Convention in Leipzig called "Invaders!," both of which used content from Taito's classic coin-operated arcade game without permission. Taito is currently considering its options, but hopes to punish those it perceives to have infringed on its properties. Good thing Andy Warhol isn't around to upset them further.

Bethesda Softworks, part of ZeniMax, confirmed that Fallout 3 will be released on October 28 in North America and in Europe on October 31. The game is being released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Electronic Arts announced that it currently has a tennis game in development at its EA Canada studios in Vancouver. The game should be released in late 2009 for consoles (first for the Wii) and will feature the licensed appearance of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (home of the famous Wimbledon Championships).

Paradox Interactive confirmed that Hearts of Iron 3 is in development for release on the PC in the third quarter of 2009. This latest installment in Paradox Interactive's premier strategy franchise is the biggest project Paradox Interactive has taken on internally, to date.

The King of the Animals, a lion, has been deposed, thanks to an unspecified but shocking scandal. In response, the animal kingdom has decided to abandon the monarchy and pursue a democratic leader chosen by popular election. Unfortunately, the animals haven't quite gotten the hang of a reasonable election process, and the primaries have turned out to be all about capturing the most numerous registered voters in the animal kingdom: clams. To win, animal candidates will attack, ally with and betray their opponents while collecting clams in a series of party-style brawling primaries.

The PC Gaming Alliance, a trade group dedicated to promoting PC gaming, continues to declare that PC gaming is alive and well. The PCGA calculated that during 2007, PC gaming was responsible for $10.7 billion of revenue.

Clearly, PopCap feels it's entitled to a little gloating. The company declared that across all platforms, it's Bejeweled series of games (including Bejeweled and Bejeweled 2) have sold more than 25 million copies. But that's not the crux of the gloating:

Activision Blizzard announced the final results of its self-tender offer. The offer arose from the process of combining Vivendi Games and Activision, and will result in Activision purchasing 85,916 shares of its common stock for cash.

The Deep Silver publishing label of Koch media and Ukrainian developer GSC Game World confirmed that S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky for the PC is gold, in duplication and should be released internationally on September 5.

Mad Catz has signed another licensing agreement allowing it to make branded console and PC peripherals. This time, Mad Catz has signed a deal with Capcom, allowing it to make accessories for all current videogame platforms (including the PC) based on the Street Fighter IV, Bionic Commando and Resident Evil 5 games.

Electronic Arts' off to acquire all the outstanding shares of Take-Two Interactive at $25.74 per share expires today. Since a sufficient number of Take-Two Interactive shares have not been tendered to Electronic Arts to allow for a takeover of the company, Electronic Arts now plans to allow its tender offer to expire at the end of the day. EA is, however, reopening talks with the management of Take-Two Interactive concerning a possible acquisition.

Publisher Lighthouse Interactive has signed an agreement with Nintendo of Europe that allows the company to develop for and publish products on the Wii and DS platforms. Lighthouse expects to release such games shortly.

Electronic Arts' Mythic Entertainment studio confirmed that it plans to launch the open beta for its upcoming massively multiplayer online game Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning on September 7. The game is currently set for a release on September 18, clearly confirming this brief "beta" as a promotional opportunity in which players can get a brief glance at the game before making a purchasing decision while Mythic tests the servers.

Tim seems like an ordinary fellow, wandering the halls of his house, reminiscing and fantasizing about a princess. But unlike most fellows, Tim's flights of fancy take him to a series of worlds where time and causality operate a little differently. It's not enough to just jump through puzzles – only by understanding the rules of each world can you help Tim navigate them.

The original Geometry Wars illustrated the potential of Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) to countless developers. Sometimes credited with giving XBLA legitimacy, the game's simple mechanics and bright, neon-like coloring made it appealing to both the casual and more hardcore gaming crowd. While a few versions of the game have come and gone since the original's release, this first, true sequel stays true to the formula while adding just enough to keep fans sated and observers mesmerized.

Today, Nintendo has launched a Pokemon-themed DS bundle that includes a Black Nintendo DS with images of Dialga and Palkia (from Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl) and animated special called Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Darkness, a mini-poster and a carrying case featuring Dialga and Palkia. The entire bundle costs $130.

The All City Tournament is the place to be for would-be breakdancers, so that's where Hydro and his "All City Crew" are headed to break to the beat of DJ Scruffy and the Beatniks. Only by busting out perfectly to the rhythm and knocking Beatniks out of the nearby ring can the All City Crew reign supreme and win fabulous prizes.

The Entertainment Software Association, a trade group that represents video game publishers, is pleased that it was able to assist the FBI and U.S. Attorney's office in finding and convicting a Florida game pirate.

In a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, peripheral manufacturer Mad Catz confirmed that it will file its quarterly report (for the quarter ended June 30, 2008) late. The filing has been delayed "because of the large volume of work related to accounting for the five operating entities acquired as part of last year's Saitek acquisition...."

Electronic Arts plans to release its game Burnout: Paradise, previously released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as a download later this year for the PlayStation 3 through the PlayStation Store. The downloadable version of the game will cost $30 and will include all the previously released updates for the racing (and crashing) game from Criterion Games.

Electronic Arts declared today that Spore, developed by Maxis, is gold, in duplication and should reach stores shortly for the PC, Mac and DS. The PC and Mac versions of the game should reach North America on September 5. Those same version should reach Europe on September 7, the same date that the DS and Mobile versions of the game should ship globally.

Codemasters plans to bring new Overlord games to nearly every platform with sequels and variations on the theme all to be released in 2009. Similar to the original game, all of these will cast players as an evil overlord who uses hordes of minions to overwhelm a fantasy world.

Unofficial word is that around 20 staff have been eliminated at NCsoft's Austin offices. While that is unconfirmed, Scott Jennings noted on his blog that his entire "team was let go as part of 'refocusing.'"

Activision Blizzard announced the preliminary results of its self-tender offer
The tender offer only expired moments ago, so a final result will be available in a few days. Preliminarily, Activision Blizzard will wind up purchasing around 86,000 shares at $27.50 per share.

The Blizzard Entertainment division of Activision Blizzard has entered into an agreement to license many of its games and technologies to NetEase (an affiliate of Shanghai EaseNet Network Technology Limited) so that the games can be operated in China.

OnNet has launched a major expansion for its persistent -world online golf game, Shot Online. Called Shot Online Season 2, the expansion adds more courses a new four-player game mode and new characters to encounter.

Disney Online is hosting a "Free Preview Weekend" for its massively multiplayer online game Pirates of the Caribbean Online. Lasting from August 15th through August 18, the weekend will give everyone free access to all content (even that normally only available to accounts upgraded to "Unlimited Access") and Unlimited Access accounts will get discounts on customizable items such as clothing, hairstyles and jewelry.

Sony has released a PSP hardware bundle to celebrate the release of Madden NFL '09. The Bundle includes a PSP with a Madden theme, a copy of Madden NFL '09, a 1 GB Memory Stick Duo, a UMD version of Just One Play and a voucher to download a copy of Beats.

Midway has cancelled an unannounced project in its Austin, Texas, studio. This means that while Midway plans to keep the Austin office open (it will continue to manage outsourcing for the company and develop two unannounced projects), Midway plans to fire around 90 of the 130 people employed in the office.

Sometimes you just want to beat the tar out of someone (not the snot – the tar, or something else suitably less snotty), but when that someone is Homestar Runner, things are always more complicated than they seem. What begins with Strong Bad answering e-mails on Lappy quickly becomes an epic journey through Homestar Runner's town, with Strong Bad trying to reconstruct the life of an uninvited houseguest just so he can get back to punching snakes.

Wicked Interactive is letting everyone know that it is getting closer to unleashing yet more massively multiplayer online games on North American audiences. The company was founded this year in Toronto, Canada, and on April 1, 2008, entered into a licensing agreement with Yedang Entertainment to bring Yedang's games to North America.

Handmark has launched its mobile game GTS World Racing for the iPhone and iPod touch through Apple's App Store. This racing game has players turning the iPhone like a steering wheel to drive through 64 different track variations.

The team that was formerly Flagship Studios' Seattle-based team has reformed as "Runic Games" to continue work. The team was working on a massively multiplayer online game called Mythos for Flagship and is hoping to continue work.

Electronic Arts plans to release a sequel to its video game version of The Godfather, released in 2007 for most platforms. The Godfather II will be released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC in February of 2009.

This week's release for the PSP in the PlayStation Store is Talkman Travel. This software offers maps alongside travel and linguistic advice for PSP owners travelling in certain world cities. Currently the software is available for Tokyo, Paris and Rome, and costs $6 per city.

To help celebrate ten years of its massively multiplayer online game i>EverQuest, Sony Online Entertainment is planning to release a book entitled the EverQuest: 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition in early 2009.

Peripheral manufacturer The Ant Commandos (TAC) has shipped its illuminated drumsticks to stores. It's hard to say to what degree these drumsticks are really a "peripheral," as they are just fancy sticks, sold for $20 that light up when struck. Still, TAC claims they are meant for drumming in musical video games such as Rock Band. The illuminated drumsticks are available in blue and red, and require AA batteries.

Microsoft has signed a perpetual license agreement with Havok to use Havok's current physics, animation and behavioral products (along with future products). The license applies to all of Microsoft's internal studios and development partners , and extends (perpetually) license agreements that have been in place since 2001.

Russian publisher Akella has entered into an agreement with Czech developer Cinemax to publish Pound of Ground: Killed Twice in Russia, CIS and the Baltic states in the fourth quarter of this year. The game is known in certain other territories as Evil Days: pound of Ground. The game is a first-person shooter in which an amnesiac protagonist awakens on an abandoned farm in the desert.

While Activision and Vivendi Games were completing the combination that resulted in the new "Activision Blizzard," the company's stock traded under the temporary symbol "ATVID." Starting tomorrow, August 7, the company will resume trading under the ticker "ATVI" that was originally used by Activision.

After multipledelays, Electronic Arts and its Mythic Entertainment studio have announced a new release date for the upcoming massively multiplayer online game Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning: September 18, 2008.

Hudson Soft has launched PuzzLoop as a mobile game available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The game costs $8 and is a port of the coin-operated arcade game released in 1998 that has players working to match (and eliminate) sets of colored balls moving down a rail.

Activision Blizzard launched the Russian-language version of its massively multiplayer online game World of Warcraft today. Russian players can play the fully localized game (including The Burning Crusade expansion) and receive help from a Russian-language customer support team. For those of you who are curious, a monthly subscription to World of Warcraft costs 359 rubles per month.

Late last year, the developer responsible for Fury and Trainzentered bankruptcy. While Auran dismissed most of its staff, it tried to maintain Fury until a solution could be found to keep the servers online. In this post, Auran confirmed that it has failed to come up with a funding solution, and Fury will close permanently.

Earlier this month, D3Publisher declared that it plans to release Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers for the Wii. Today, D3Publisher announced that it plans to release a related game, Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad for the Xbox 360 at approximately the same time: early 2009.

The Entertainment Software Association received its check for $282,794 from the state of California, reimbursing the ESA for attorney's fees incurred while litigating the states bill to restrict the sale of games.

The Adventure Company, part of DreamCatcher (and by extension, JoWooD) confirmed that it is adapting its PC adventure game series based on The Hardy Boys for the Wii. The PC version is currently scheduled for release late this year, while the Wii version should reach stores in the second quarter of 2009.

Goku, his son Gohan, and their many friends like to focus on conflict resolution. Whether it's a polite disagreement between friends or saving the universe from aliens and androids, they resolve conflict by beating the snot out of one another and gloating about who is the most powerful fighter in the universe.

We've had more than a few inquiries asking why the site has been so slow to update, so we're posting the reason to the right. Our most prolific staff member, Kyle, now has a son and is busy tending to James' needs. As we rearrange the staffing schedule, updates will resume in a timely fashion.

The staff at FI wishes Kyle luck, and encourages our readers to admire his baby.